Top-10 Devils References in TV and Film

Since Devils coverage has been at a minimum because of the lockout, I’ve taken to looking at other teams news to fill the void. Over at Canucks Army they compiled a list of top 10 Canucks references in TV and Film. I thought, why not do the same but for the Devils? After talking with Dan and EJ, and with the help of our Twitter followers I was able to find 12 uses of the Devils name or logo’s in TV or film. Below is the top 10 list we came up with.

10. Little Black Book

Brittany Murphy stars in this rom-com alongside Ron Livingston. Livingston’s character is an employee of the Devils. Throughout the movie you will see various Devils jerseys, calendars, lamps among other pieces of merchandise. They even take in a playoff game between the Devils and Lightning. I like to pretend that number 18 in the movie is actually Sergei Brylin and the real star of this movie.

9. The Tooth Fairy

In the movie The Tooth Fairy, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as a hockey enforcer. He gets the nickname “The Tooth Fairy” because he is known for hitting people so hard he knocks a tooth out of them. His character is noted as a first round Devils draft pick. Knowing Lou Lamoriello and the contracts he has given out to guys like Andrew Peters, Aaron Asham, Eric Boulton and Cam Janssen over the years, it only makes sense he’d have been a Devils first rounder.

8. Paul Blart: Mall Cop

For those that believe that Martin Brodeur is fat (no really, super fat), this is the Devils reference for you. Paul Blart is a cop in a New Jersey (where else?) mall. Blart dresses in goalie gear and a Devils jersey (presumably, Brodeur’s), brandishing a hockey stick, and defends his mall against intruders. Should the lockout go beyond one season, one can picture David Clarkson in the same spot.

7. Hackers

In a movie featuring a young Johnny Lee Miller and a pre-botoxed (and briefly topless) Angelina Jolie, Hackers was a campy 1995 film about the burgeoning threat of computer hacking, video games, and awful 1990’s fashions (even worse than the Islanders’ Gorton’s fisherman sweaters). The film centered around a group of computer savvy teenagers trying to thwart the system including a pre-scream Matthew Lillard. Ms. Jolie, whose outfits make her look like an extra from “Blade Runner,” dons a red Devils sweater during a classroom scene featuring dueling poems between Jolie and Jonny Lee Miller (yes, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds).

6. House:

The FOX medical drama “House” takes place at a fictional hospital located in the Plainsboro-Princeton area of Mercer County. Known for every episode featuring Hugh Laurie’s title character, Dr. House, being sarcastic, breaking rules and healing people, the show has featured several notable cast members including Omar Epps, Olivia Wilde and the guy from “Dead Poets Society” that killed himself at the end of that movie. The Devils were mentioned in a November 2011 episode that discussed New Jersey thrashing the Rangers 4-0 in an early October game with Ilya Kovalchuk (whose name was pronounced Kowalchuk) scoring twice, as well as Zach Parise and Jason Arnott scoring a goal each. (Disregard the fact that Arnott was playing for St. Louis at the time after being rented to Washington during the spring of 2011). The Bergen Record’s Tom Gulitti broke down the scene and the player’s reactions. Dr. House is also seen above sporting a Kovalchuk poster in his house.

5. General Hospital

General Hospital is the longest running soap opera currently in production. At least that’s what Wikipedia states. In March of 1989 Devils Doug Brown, John MacLean and Ken Daneyko made a special guest appearance in an episode. Brown has to go to the hospital for a shoulder inury while Daneyko and MacLean have to come pick him up. Of course because they are hockey players, all of the nurses swoon over them. The biggest surprise to me was that Lou allowed Brown’s injury to be known as something more than an upper body injury.

4. The Wire

“When you walk through the garden, you better watch your back…”

HBO’s “The Wire” is regarded as one of the most well-written and acted dramas in television history. The five-season show focusing on the lives of drug dealers, policemen and politicians is hardly a ringing tourism ad for Baltimore, but it did give us one of cable television’s most memorable characters in Omar Little. Omar, portrayed brilliantly by Michael Kenneth Williams, was essentially a Robin Hood-type of character, stealing from the drug dealers. Always packing a sawed-off shotgun, Omar was not to be trifled with, especially when wearing his Devils Jersey, which he did briefly in one episode.

“Omar’s coming” is said frequently throughout The Wire by little children scampering away from him, along with Omar’s famous lines “Man’s gotta have a code,” and “ya feel me.” If you haven’t watched “The Wire,” yet, do yourself a favor and take in one of the best dramas in television history.

3. Clerks

Is there any filmmaker more New Jersey than Kevin Smith? Smith is a huge hockey and New Jersey Devils fan, regularly dressing in hockey sweaters in publish appearances and on his TV show Comic Book Men you will see Devils Stanley Cup banners hanging from the rafters of his Red Bank comic book store. Smith released Clerks as his first movie in 1994, which he self-funded off credit cards and IOUs for $27,575. In the hockey game scene, Dante wears a Penguins jersey and plays the game against opponents wearing New Jersey Devils jerseys. Randal is wearing a CCCP jersey during the game, but still wears a Devils hat.

2. Wayne’s World

As far as decade defining films, few are as frequently quoted and referred to as 1992’s “Wayne’s World.” We all remember “so it’s not just a clever name,” rocking out to Bohemian Rhapsody and the always-entertaining “psycho hose beast” when referring to a clingy ex-girlfriend. However, the Devils also got their own shout out in the film, undoubtedly due to Mike Myers’ being Canadian and having some hockey knowledge.

Following the Bohemian Rhapsody scene, Wayne, Garth and the rest of the gang head to Stan Mikita’s Donuts for “coffee and krullers, stat.” Before walking into the donut shop, the gang encounters a cop having a cup of coffee and a donut; his name: Officer Koharski. Yes, Koharski, as in NHL referee Don Koharski, yes, the one yelled at by former Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld following the Game 3 1988 Eastern Conference Finals loss to Boston. “Go eat another donut,” screamed Schoenfeld after calling Koharski a fat pig.

Wayne and Garth talk to Officer Koharski, mentioning how they smell “bacon” or “a pork product of some type,” prompting Koharski to reply “ha ha, Campbell. Bacon, pig, police officer, oink oink, I used to say that stuff to cops when I was your age.”

Is there really any question what was going to be #1? The iconic Devils popular culture moment is replayed at most Devils home games. The episode was filmed shortly after the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals playoff serious between the Devils and Rangers, and aired just before the Devils won their first Stanley Cup in 1995. Elaine’s boyfriend, David Puddy, is not only a Devils fan, but also a face painter. On the way back from the game, an amped-up David Puddy starts yelling at a priest in a car, prompting the priest to mistake Puddy for “El Diablo.”

Now that you’ve read our top 10 list, let us know what you think. What would you have ranked higher or lower? Did we miss something? Let us know in the comments.